Always Darkest Before Dawn
by katelynmauntel
Summary: "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it." When Mary Stuart marries her childhood love and betrothed, Francis, she thinks that life is perfect. Slowly things start to change when they become the newest King and Queen of France and Mary begins to believe that love might not be as everlasting as she originally thought.


**Always Darkest Before Dawn**

He was staring at her again. At first, Mary Stuart had thought her mind had been playing tricks on her. The past week had been more stressful than usual with the addition of Italian ambassadors visiting France in the hopes of gaining a private audience with her husband Francis, the new King of France. She had spent every day since their arrival making sure that the Italian representatives had everything they needed to be comfortable at French court, as well as soothing the other country ambassadors who opposed the presence of the Italians. The court politics were time consuming and Mary wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball in her bed and sleep uninterrupted for a month. Yet despite her reluctance, Mary was forced to attend the banquet that Francis held in Italy's honor. Glancing back at him, she was surprised that his blue eyes were still watching her every move.

Mary wanted to force him to look away, but was unable to without causing a scene. Didn't he know that he was jeopardizing everything if Francis noticed? The only reason he was allowed at French court was because he was in the King's good graces, but if he did anything to anger Francis, Mary would never see him again and she wasn't sure she could live with that. The only time she had talked to him was with Francis, but Sebastian de Poitiers had always been there in the background. Having him around was a comfort and she was irritated that he was willing to jeopardize that. Glaring at Sebastian, Francis' brother and the subject of her anger, she turned her attention back to Francis.

Her husband was an extremely attractive man. His golden hair and blue eyes were all the highborn ladies could talk about at social events. Not only was he handsome, but he was also a good and fair ruler. No matter what the issue was, Francis gave his subject his full attention even when Mary could tell that the subject bored him to tears. Mary couldn't have asked for a better person to share the throne with and she acknowledged that fact every single day.

But, she wasn't happy. Mary had been filled with joy when her and Francis got married. Her childhood dreams had come true and she couldn't have imagined a more beautiful nor grander wedding. She was ready to become Francis' wife and care for him in every way. The beginning of their life together had been perfect. They toured France and visited the various villages and cities during the day and made love to each other every night, sometimes forgoing sleep altogether.

Everything changed the day that King Henry, Francis' father, passed away in a jousting tournament. Suddenly Francis was thrown into the spotlight and right in the midst of court politics. Court advisors were giving him advice on what he should do to ascend to the throne with the people's support. His mother was trying to find any enemies that Francis might have, so that she could take care of them swiftly and efficiently. Everything around her was chaotic, busy, and hurried, yet she was stuck. The world around her was moving, yet she didn't know how to move with it. Mary watched as slowly Francis began to drift away from her as she slowly lost importance within French court despite being its new queen.

At first, she had thought that it was simply a phase. Francis was grieving and busying himself in his duties wasn't a justifiable cause for her anger. Even though she missed him, Mary had to let him come back to her on his own. She now felt like laughing at that thought. It had been two years since he had become the King of France and she was still waiting for a man that she doubted would ever return to her. The only time she saw him was when he visited her chambers to try to produce an heir as his duties dictated. Before they had made love passionately, now it was clear that his only wish was to produce an heir. It had become a chore. Their relationship had died when his father had passed away and the grief could still be felt like a sharp pain to her heart.

Francis was talking to one of the Italian ambassadors on his left and hadn't noticed that her attention had been somewhere else. On Mary's right sat the English ambassador Simon. When he noticed her attention, he gave her a wolfish grin. There had been a time when Francis cared enough about her to protect her against her enemies, yet now he had her sitting right next to Simon, possibly her most dangerous enemy. The noise in the hall grew louder as many conversations took place and Mary felt overwhelmed, trapped, and alone. Unable to take it any longer, Mary excused herself from the banquet and all but fled the dining hall.

Her dress felt too tight, her hair too perfect, and it became more and more difficult to breathe. Before she registered what she was doing, Mary tore the clips that held her hair in place letting her dark brown hair tumble down her back in waves. The dining hall opened once more and she hid in the alcove, embarrassed that she had let the politics and expectations get to her. She held her breath as she head a pair of footsteps near her hiding place. The last thing Mary wanted was for someone to notice her in such a state of disarray.

What she saw next surprised her. Francis had his arm around one of the Italian ambassador's daughter. His cheeks were tinged with red as a result of the spiced wine served at dinner and his eyes were sparkling. The girl was giggling as he led her in the direction of his chambers. Her stomach lurched as she overheard what Francis promised to do to her once they reached his bedchambers. Numb, Mary let herself fall to the ground once his voice and her giggles faded away. She knew that Francis no longer loved her, but she had never thought that he had been with other women since their marriage. Francis had been an honorable man, never afraid of doing the right thing. When had he become a complete stranger? When had she become such a naïve woman?

The door opened once again, but Mary no longer cared. Her entire world had just been shattered and the tears she had been suppressing for the past two years could no longer be contained. To her surprise, she felt strong arms wrap around her and lift her up. Everything was a haze as she processed what she had just witnessed. It wasn't until they reached her chambers that Mary realized she should be concerned about who carried her.

When she saw his face, she tried to pull out of his embrace. Instead, Sebastian's grip tightened as he set her down in her bed and held her.

"Let it out, your Grace. I won't leave you," he said as he gently pushed her hair out of her face.

"Monsieur de Poitiers, I don't understand," Mary admitted refusing to look at him.

"Your grace, you've had a difficult night. Rest and I promise we will talk on the morrow," Sebastian said as he released her and began to tuck her into her bed, "And you may call me Bash."

"Where are you going?" she asked a little alarmed at being left alone with her thoughts while Francis bedded that young woman.

"Nowhere. I am going to sit here tonight and we will talk more about this in the morning," Bash answered as he sat down in the armchair in front of the fireplace, "Now sleep, your Grace. I will be here when you wake up."

Mary wanted to protest. She wanted to tell him that she was old enough to take care of herself. She wanted to know why he was always there, lurking in the background. Why had he been staring at her during the feast? There were so many questions, yet despite this, her body betrayed her. Sleep weighed on her eyelids and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

Bash watched as Mary Stuart fell into a deep sleep and added more wood to the fireplace. He knew it had only been a matter of time before she found out about Francis' infidelity, but Bash wished he had been able to keep her from the pain that Francis constantly caused her. He wanted nothing more than to hurt his brother for acting like their father had. There was no excuse for Francis' behavior, King or not. Returning to his seat, he kept his promise to Mary. He had seen what his father's behavior had done to his mother, no matter how unaffected she had appeared, and he refused to let Mary go through what his mother had gone through. She deserved better than that. Bash would show Mary that her life wasn't over simply because Francis no longer wanted her. No, he would show her that her life was just beginning and that she was a queen that was not only respected, but also loved.

**I've been working hard on my Draco/Hermione story, but I found this on my computer and decided it was a good creative break from the Harry Potter world. Let me know what you thought of this! **

**Thank you and if you have any questions, my twitter is katelynmauntel :). **


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